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Pakistani Baby Goes Into Hiding After Being Charged With Attempted Murder

byKaitlin StanfordApr 09, 2014

Photograph by AFP/Getty Images

A 9-month-old baby boy from Lahore, Pakistan, was charged with murder last week (yes, murder), in what can only be described as one of the most ridiculous headline news stories we've heard ... probably ever. And as of yesterday, reports say he has been taken into hiding for protection.

Despite the fact that little Musa Khan is still in diapers and unable to walk or talk, Pakistani officials booked and fingerprinted him over the weekend, as the poor child cried. After the photo of his arrest took over the news, the case has understandably brought some major international scrutiny to Pakistan's severely fractured justice system.

"He does not even know how to pick up his milk bottle properly," argued his grandfather, Muhammad Yasin. "How can he stone the police?

The tiny tot was charged along with his father and grandfather, after a mob protest against gas cuts and price increases escalated into a brawl. During the protest, police and gas company workers were violently stoned as they were trying to collect overdue bills. But what does all that have to do with little Musa? The charges apparently came after an assistant sub-inspector wrote in a crime report that Musa's entire family had beaten him up ... and the police took "entire family" way too literally.

"Police are vindictive," Yasin told Reuters. Now that they are trying to settle the issue on personal grounds, that's why I sent my grandson to Faisalabad for protection."

According to Reuters, Pakistan is overwrought with police corruption, which stems from poorly trained and underpaid officials who are often accused of human rights abuses and unqualified to write a crime report (as clearly evidenced by this case).

But while the provincial law minister, Rana Sanaullah Khan, told Reuters that an investigation into the charges against Musa has been launched, he is still due back in court on April 12 for another hearing. In the meantime, he's out on bail while the rest of the world hopes the Lahore courts come to their senses.